Eric Mairu sentenced in Townsville District Court after terrifying Aitkenvale carjacking

A young man who stabbed a university student in a car park causing him to undergo surgery in a shocking attempt to steal his car has been sentenced.

Eric Mairu, 22, sentenced in Townsville District Court on Thursday, January 23, 2025 for attempted robbery and grievous bodily harm. Picture: Facebook

A man living in Australia to study was confronted by a teen with a knife late at night in an attempted carjacking, leaving the student with severed tendons in his fingers, a court was told during the sentence of the offender.

Eric Mairu, who was 19 at the time and now aged 22, appeared in Townsville District Court on Thursday morning having spent 531 days in custody for his shocking attack on an “innocent” member of the community.

Crown prosecutor Laura Moore told the court that on August 10 in 2023 a university student was parked at the front of Domino’s on Nathan Street on the phone to his family in India when the teen approached him with a large knife demanding he get out of the car.

She said the James Cook University student had been using his friend’s car, and he agreed to get out but put the keys in his pocket which “enraged” Mairu.

Mairu launched at the man who grabbed the end of the knife and the two struggled back and forth with members of the public yelling out, and one bystander filming the ordeal, the court was told.

“The (student) was pushed against the car and lost his grip, (Mairu) retracted the knife causing a severe laceration across four of the man’s fingers,” Ms Moore said.

The video the witnesses took was played to the court which the crown labelled as “quite violent”.

“It depicts how terrifying it would’ve been for the complainant but also the members of the public,” she said.

Mairu then turned to the witness and threatened him with the knife also before going back to the student’s car and stealing his ID, money and mobile.

Ms Moore said the victim was taken to hospital as he had to have 42 stitches across his fingers, his index and middle finger were severed to the tendon and he had to undergo surgery, losing function in his dominant hand.

Nathan Street, Aitkenvale - Picture: Google Maps

“This type of offending has a detrimental impact on our community in a significant way,” she said.

“It’s prevalent in our community and really members of our community are fed up with it.”

Judge Gregory Lynham acknowledged the seriousness of it and voiced that he had to “grapple” with the fact that Mairu was a 19-year-old with no criminal history, when considering whether to order that the defendant be given a ‘serious violent offender’ order.

Defence barrister Ross Malcomson instructed by the Australian and Torres Strait Island Legal Services said while the injury was serious, it occurred when his client was pulling the knife away, not of an “intentional direct stabbing”.

“The mechanism of the injury is one where the defendant is removing the knife from the situation and that’s an important feature,” Mr Malcomson said.

Judge Lynham questioned the argument and asked what the victim was supposed to do during the offending.

“The defendant became enraged after observing the complainant put the car keys into his pocket, it caused him to react by raising the knife above his head and trying to stab him,” His Honour said.

“What was the complainant supposed to do in that situation? Stand there with his hands beside him?”

Mr Malcomson said he wasn’t arguing that point, then told the court Mairu wanted to convey sincere apologies and it was only after being arrested and spending time off methamphetamine he became aware of his true actions.

“He thinks about it every night,” the lawyer said.

The man, who spent his 21st birthday behind bars, was raised by a single mother and experienced a “good upbringing”, Mr Malcomson said.

The only explanation able to be given was that he was on meth and “wasn’t able to control his actions”.

The man since being in jail had also started work in the kitchen and as a barber and placed himself on a drug rehabilitation program waiting list.

Mairu pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm, attempted robbery while armed with violence, common assault and entering a property at night using violence while armed.

He was sentenced to six years jail and given a parole eligibility date of December 11, 2025, the 531 days spent in pre-sentence custody was declared as time already served and a serious violent offender order was not made.

Originally published as Eric Mairu sentenced in Townsville District Court after terrifying Aitkenvale carjacking